2nd Battalion Soldiers rest after completing Twelve-Mile Road March

Soldiers with the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, rest after completing a twelve-mile road march as part of Expert Infantry Badge testing in Arta, Djibouti, Jan. 14, 2015. As the final component of EIB testing, Soldiers must complete the road march in three hours or less while carrying approximately 50 pounds of gear. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ian Dean)

For U.S. Army infantrymen, earning the Expert Infantryman Badge is a critical step in their profession of arms. With it, they demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of their tools and the skills necessary to apply them.

In the African context, sports’ has the ability to create national pride yet it also has the ability to unite - crossing nationalism, ethnicity, race, and religion and clan systems. When two groups from different cultures engage in sports, it is as much a cultural exchange as it is a competition.

More than 30 Soldiers from the 2/16th Infantry Battalion and several joint service members from Camp Lemonnier attended a French desert survival combat course Sept. 22 to Oct. 2 in the Grand Bara desert.

Soldiers from the 407th Civil Affairs Battalion Functional Specialty Team taught Soldiers from the 2/16th Infantry Battalion crucial skills during a field sanitation course during the month of August, here.